DD2 has allergies............

[newg]

uugghh, I totally had this written out and then my computed botched it!!!

anyways................
We found out today DD2 is allergic to milk, egg whites and peanuts.
She had bloodwork done last week and our ped. called to share the results with us today.
Her milk allergy is high at 4.47, egg whites is moderate at .79 and peanuts is low/moderate at .70.

She's had yogurt and cheese and reacted with hives (I've posted about this before), which is what prompted getting bloodwork done.
But as recently as this weekend she's had baked goods made with egg whites and milk and had no reaction......so DH and I are thinking she may be safe in that area????

The ped. told us there is a good chance she'll outgrow these allergies. Is this realistic??
Ped. says we can do rice milk or soy milk when she turns one. I'm thinking rice milk. Eventhough she showed no allergy to soy, I'm a little worried that milk and soy allergies go hand-in-hand......

How do you keep your food seperate for your allergic and non-allergic kids? I was thinking giving the girls their own colors for beverage containers....and to make all milk drinking done at the table so DD2 can't pick up DD1's sippy cup.

Any thoughts, suggestions and resources would be appreciated!!

We do have Epi pens now, which will be located right next to my Glucagon kits in the kitchen and diaper bag.....

Thanks!!

[DrSally]

DS had the same allergies--cow's milk, egg, and peanut (still has peanut). He outgrew milk and eggs (in that order, which is usually the way it goes). Call the allergiest and ask whether it is ok in his opinion to continue giving baked eggs/milk. Kids will often tolerate it in baked goods first and there is some evidence to suggest that giving it this way can speed the growing out period. I would get his go ahead first though. I wouldn't give plain milk/eggs. The egg number is pretty low, so that's good (as is the peanut). IMO, it was hardest to avoid milk, but we avoided like the plague (it's in some lunchmeat and basically all processed food). If your DD can tolerate it in baked goods, that will really help in the convenience dept. Also, are you sure she tolerated it ok? Any hidden effects--like tummy ache?

Many kids outgrow milk and egg. Not the same for peanuts. Her numbers are very low for peanuts, so you'll just have to see if that trends upward or downward. DS's first test for peanuts was also very low, but then sky-rocketed, unfortunately.

DD wasn't around when DS was still allergic to milk, but when we went to other's houses, I brought my own sippies, or washed theirs really, really well. He was anaphalactic to milk though, so I was super, super cautious.

There is a mild connection to cow's milk and soy allergy BUT, if your DD is not allergic to soy, it's better to give fortefied (vit D) soymilk than ricemilk. Ricemilk has little nutritional value, so it's the last choice in the list of "milk subs". DS nursed until 3 yo, but also had sippies w/fortefied soymilk. I tried to limit it though, since he's a boy and I was worried about the estrogenic effects. I also got organic, since soybeans can have a high pesticide load.

Also, be aware that many soy based yogurt and cheese products have caesin in them.

[newg]

Thank you!!
The ped. Said we did not need to see an allergist at this point...not sure if I should listen to him or not.
Since the test came back with no soy allergy is it safe to assume she can consume soy? I did not realize rice milk had less nutritional value.

You are right about not knowing for sure if baked goods bother her. She is teething big time right now.....she's getting four top ones at once. So it's I guess it's possible what I'm assuming is all teething related fussiness/blowout diapers, could beallergy related too.

[DrSally]

Thank you!!
The ped. Said we did not need to see an allergist at this point...not sure if I should listen to him or not.
Since the test came back with no soy allergy is it safe to assume she can consume soy? I did not realize rice milk had less nutritional value.

You are right about not knowing for sure if baked goods bother her. She is teething big time right now.....she's getting four top ones at once. So it's I guess it's possible what I'm assuming is all teething related fussiness/blowout diapers, could beallergy related too.

I guess it's up to you, but I'd feel better being under the care of a pediatric allergist, esp. if you have more questions. A blood test doesn't tell all (there are false positives). If it were me, I'd give soy wo/concern. I bet she's already had it, as it's basically in so many processed foods. Many people who need to use rice milk (b/c of almond or soy allergies) add canola oil. Still, I think soy, almond, or coconut milk would be better. You man not be introducing tree nuts though, esp. w/the peanut result. Coconut is considered a tree nut by some people. Everything considered, I'd go w/a fortified soy milk. Make sure it has calcium and vit D, and it's the closest thing to cow's milk--protein, calcium, vit D. You can try the sugar free version, but DS never took to it. Silk is the sweetest brand, IMO. There are others that are less sweet.

[newg]

I guess it's up to you, but I'd feel better being under the care of a pediatric allergist, esp. if you have more questions. A blood test doesn't tell all (there are false positives). If it were me, I'd give soy wo/concern. I bet she's already had it, as it's basically in so many processed foods. Many people who need to use rice milk (b/c of almond or soy allergies) add canola oil. Still, I think soy, almond, or coconut milk would be better. You man not be introducing tree nuts though, esp. w/the peanut result. Coconut is considered a tree nut by some people. Everything considered, I'd go w/a fortified soy milk. Make sure it has calcium and vit D, and it's the closest thing to cow's milk--protein, calcium, vit D. You can try the sugar free version, but DS never took to it. Silk is the sweetest brand, IMO. There are others that are less sweet.

Thank you!

[MamaMolly]

Lula had the same allergies, she's outgrown the milk and egg and peanut has gotten worse. Such is life.

As for milk like products, we used Trader Joe's fortified rice milk and Kirkland (Costco) soy milk. For a while I boosted the rice milk with a tea spoon of Canola oil in each cup for her.

I found it a lot easier to just remove her allergens from the house all together. Other than mayo, we had no eggs at all for a few years unless we ate them in a restaurant. DH and I switched to soy, rice and oat milk. I liked the oat, he liked the soy, she couldn't have cared less.

For cooking used Ener-G egg replacer or ground flaxseed instead of eggs. My favorite cookbook was The Joy of Vegan Baking, though there are some peanut containing recipes.

I know that Silk had a milk cross contamination issue with their single use bottles a few years ago. IMO they handled it horribly (insisted that it was impossible, denial, denial, denial, etc) so using them is outside of my comfort level. I'm sure they are more careful now, so YMMV.

For really good recipes, support and information I suggest www.kidswithfoodallergies.org They were my go-to.

Our ped also told me we didn't need an allergist, and while I trusted him and we did fine under his care, in hindsight I wish I had gone to one. We took Lula for her first skin prick test this year (all the other had been the Cap-RAST blood test). I just felt better about the whole thing being under the care of a good pediatric allergist.

[BabbyO]

DS is allergic to Milk...and as a precaution (and based on some suspicions of soy-related reactions) we eliminated both dairy and soy.

When I was BFing I only used rice milk. He's been drinking Rice milk since he was 1 yo. However, he really doesn't like it. We found Oat milk at our local fresh & Green market. It is tasty and has a higher fat content than Rice milk. It is also a bit pricey...so we tend to do 1/2 rice 1/2 oat milk for him when he drinks milk. For cooking, etc, we just use rice milk.

We do have dairy in our house...but since DH and I are the only ones who can consume it...it just doesn't come out when DS is awake. I'm not sure what we're going to do when DS2 arrives if he can have dairy and DS1 can't. I expect that DS2 will have a similar diet to DS1 for sanity sake!